Boefjes en judo

Now we decided that M. would have his birthday party, Wednesday 15 June.
His real birthday is a month later but not only we, but most kids are on holiday then.

So, I went over this site and choose Het Boevenverhaal.
I asked him several times to think about who he wanted to invite but nothing came of it.
Finally he confessed that since T. was in school, he only played with him and the other boys didn't want to play with him anymore. Big sobs.
I tried to convince him that maybe that was because they thought he would rather play with his brother instead of them but no, I had it all wrong ofcourse.
So last week I told him to invite Lucas, once his big time buddy to play over at our house.
Lucas called him Thursday night, just as we were getting ready for dinner to confirm he would come the next day and M. was all excited and thrilled again.
Lucas came over, and later that evening Lucas's father and mother joined us for dinner.

That weekend we made up the list of invitees.
The thing is, some kids HAVE to come coz he had been to their party. M. doesn't necessarily see it that way, but from a parents point of view it is even sort of embarrassing coz we know the other parents and regularly speak to them.
And just when I had printed the invitations and made them ready to hand out tomorrow, he got another invitation for a party on June 13th, from a boy we hadn't included.
That makes it a total of 11 kids and I've bought stuff for 10.
Man.
Now there are several kids on his list whom I have my doubts about.
Simply don't like them or he has never ever mentioned them before, but I need to strategically get him to agree with me.
I think I'll throw out Fenne. She's the only girl and M. only allowed her coz I suggested her. (she gave him a flippo)

Something completely different:
He came home last Monday from Judo with a paper explaining he could go for his first judo exam. I think I'll either wet myself from laughing looking at all sorts of 5/6 yr old "fighting" with each other or cry my eyes out of proud.

I am bored

My totally random choice for today:

Life is just one damned thing after another.
Elbert Hubbard (1856 - 1915)

It is very difficult to live among people you love and hold back from offering them advice.
Anne Tyler (1941 - )


Wisdom doesn't automatically come with old age. Nothing does - except wrinkles. It's true, some wines improve with age. But only if the grapes were good in the first place.
Abigail Van Buren (1918 - ), 1978

Somewhere on this globe, every ten seconds, there is a woman giving birth to a child. She must be found and stopped.
Sam Levenson (1911 - 1980)

Anyone who uses the phrase 'easy as taking candy from a baby' has never tried taking candy from a baby.
Unknown

A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin.
H. L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)

Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.
Barry LePatner

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948)

People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one.
Leo J. Burke

Suburbia is where the developer bulldozes out the trees, then names the streets after them.
Bill Vaughan

Alors, les Francais ont dit NON

Saves us the embarrassment of being the first ones, although I had a slight hope we would say yes.

And I think most of those who thought of saying yes, will not even go now, because with France having said no, it's already a crisis and no-one will believe we'll pull it thru anyhow.

I think it's a pity but I am curious how this will all end.

Warm !!

The last couple of days it's been up to 30 degrees C (about 85 Fahrenheit I guess) and with the way I look a waste to go sit behind the PC instead of trying to catch some colour, so I'll post later.

Just a short update:
I talked to P. this morning and LookingforFriends is scheduled to go life half June.
We finally got a car radio (now it only needs to be installed :))
Congratulations A. on your 5th birthday today !
I am busy preparing M. 's birthday party (his first) that will be held June 15
With T. being on holiday, I only succeed in doing the most necessary things in the office and I have about a ton of filing papers waiting for me. As it looks like Monday will be back to 12 degrees and rain again, I'll do that next week.


TTYL

Here's the story about how my naked butt went all over the internet

Once upon a time there were 5 teen-girls, well late teens, I guess we were in our 20's but still; no money to spend.
They heard about this new spa being opened in Scheveningen and how on the first day they opened, you could get in for free, have several treatments/massages whatever, provided you would fill in a testform and openly would discuss any issues for improvement.

Got there, received the wardrobes, and off we went.

First thing we hadn't thought about; there were very few people trying it out and a lot of male staff.
Which meant we couldn't get in or come out of a sauna (naked, right) without a guy popping up and asking us how we felt.
Ehh.
Ok you get used to that.
Well, some of us pretended they did.

Then we had massages, facials and we were also scheduled for a surprise.
No, no need to be scared, this was really a treat.
This is how they explained it to us;
We were to get into a shower and would get a special powerful watermassage that was supposed to be heavenly.
I remember we all had our doubts, some backed out but sure enough I went in.

So I step in to a narrow (about 1 mtr) but long (about 5 mtr) hallway with nothing but tiles. Again I am naked ofcourse.
At the very end of the hallway (I didn't wear my contactlenses so looked like a retard) I discover a shower and walk over.
Auswitz and gas-chamber images keep popping up but I try to act like everything is normal.

Behind me a door opens and sure, my luck, a guy walks in with an enormous hoze.
Like the ones the firebrigade use to put out a fire of 3 blocks of houses.

Even from that distance he must have been able to see my panic.
I ; You're not seriously thinking of using that are you?

He; Just give it a try, if you want to stop while I am at it, just say so and I'll put it softer or simply turn it off.

I; Yeah, but are you going to use that for my front too?

He; Yes. It's not as bad as it looks like.

I give in, turn my back on him and he opens the hose.
I get almost whiped of my feet and understand now why there are 2 bars in front of me.
I grip them with all my might, all the time thinking; O my god, how am I ever going to turn around and get out of here alive.

After about 2,5 seconds, but my memory may fail me here, he asks me to turn around.

Let's just put it this way.
Once you have been hosed down by a guy from a 2 mtr distance, whose eyes follow wherever the waterbeam goes, nothing is going to get you.

And to come back to the title of this post; there is no other way to explain this experiment coz I checked their site afterwards and couldn't find anything that sounded like what i had experienced.

Yeahoo!

We've got our tickets for Anita Baker !
After way too many years she's finally got a new album out and is also coming to the Netherlands this time.
I was a bit worried coz originally we would be on holiday, but R. agreed to go the next day, so we'll be there in the Heineken Hall !!

I saw her a couple of times in London, in the Wembley arena, and i'll never forget the time when George Michael happened to be in the audience! He was spotted ofcourse, asked on stage and did a song with her. That was back in the Wham period and I had always taken him for some sort of Milli Vanilli fraud, but I learned that evening that he could actually sing !

O man, i hope she's going to do some old stuff too.

Shit

Ok, got myself all worked up for testing LFF again and as it turns out, at least 95% of my remarks and comments have not been honored.
P. and I had a meeting planned for next Friday to go over the last details but he is going to get one pissed phone call tomorrow !

Excuses on forehand for our accountant

Dear waitress,

I know we were quite a noisy bunch to begin with yesterday evening (you're right, you would never have guessed the bearded guy was our accountant, but then again, back in the day he was also R.'s landlord and has been a longtime friend since and on top of that shares R.'s taste for whisky so there you have it) and I know one of your colleagues had already been very helpful ordering that special Calvados for G. a few weeks back, but what I want to know right now:
Will you love me, will you love me forever, will you need me (50 points, anyone?)

Sorry.
Did he tip you ?

Coz I have a very awkward feeling he didn't.
He did pick up the bill first and wouldn't let me take a look at it, but I know what he's like.
Een centenneuker.
And i really did specifically inform whether he had tipped you, but he said he had taken care of everything.

Just to be sure, I am never showing my face in your (nice) restaurant again.
Or I'll come back on evenings, you're not working.

"By George, I think she's got it"

Finished I mean.
Dan Browns 'The Da Vinci Code" .

Great read, but still a 104 chapters ! Hundred and four!
Man.
And I only have time to read when the kids have gone to bed or simply are away coz I'll be re-reading my page about 4 till5 times otherwise. Mum, I want a sandwich, Mum I am thirsty, Mum, he hit me.
Bezint eer ge begint.
And when I read in bed, I can only do 10 pages max, or my eyes automatically close.
So these 454 pages took me some 6 months I guess, but hey it's done.
Very intriguing I must say.
Yesterday evening there was a documentary about Da Vinci's work and on the other net Indiana Jones's Last Crusade.
What the connection is?
Read the book.

Things that make me wonder

Why doesn't anybody comment on Temptation Island?
I hope there is a vast majority who has no idea what i am talking about so I'll explain;
a couple (who in the world is dumb enough to actually do this?) goes off to this exotic island together with 3 or 4 other couples. Men and women are divided. The men go to a place where there are about 10 beautiful women doing anything to seduce them (and let's face it, with men that doesn't take much) and the women go to a place where there are 10 hunks waiting for them. Every action is on film.
All this "to see if our relationship can stand the test"
Sure enough all the men end up in at least dubious situations or just plain in bed making out and more.
The women, after seeing their boyfriends go loose (every week both parts see their partner on video having fun), decide to do the same.
Now excuse me, but
A. who could ever decide to "test" his relationship like this.
B. how do you sell it to your girlfriend
C. don't they have any friends with a grain of brain?
D. how come nobody sees the whores (male and female) on the island for what they are
E. how come after the first episode there are still girls who agree to go with their friend to Tempation Island

How come there are whole countries out there i had never heard of untill recently?
Apparently after the revolution in Georgia (did you know their president has a Dutch wife?
You're right, has nothing to do with it), other former Soviet states are roaring. And i only know of Georgia because we had an aupair who came from their capital Kiev. (i remember us talking about large cities in the Netherlands; i think we mentioned Amsterdam had almost a million people. She smiled; turned out Kiev had several millions. Why don't i know these things?)
Take Izgizia. That is definitely a country i had never heard of.
Next to Oezbekistan (pardon?) and Afghanistan. Central Asia is not my geographical favorite.

And why do countries change their names?
Ok Kongo became Zaïre. But Tjechoslovakia became Slovakia and what else? And if forgot which country it is, but somewhere in Japan or China or so, they are changing a city's name.

Or why is there always a bird shitting on my drapes when i dry them outside.
Always.

And what is happening to R.?
Remember the dinner with friends i talked about couple of weeks ago?
He took out this dish from the oven and got stuck to it.
Nothing new here, happens every other day.
But we're 4 weeks further now and his hand still looks a mess.
And not only that but he's getting these strange plague-looking sores on his legs and hands.
We've both been tested on HIV several times (WHAT ??!!). Yes, when you want to buy a house of a certain amount or close a life-insurance (which we did both) the bank wants to be pretty sure you don't die on them too soon.
We came out negative (that's when you're OK isn't it?) but otherwise i would have had serious doubts by the way R. looks right now.
He's been to the doctor's yesterday, got some antibiotics and has to have his blood tested on Tuesday.
To be continued.

In Holland staat een huis

In Holland staat een huis
In Holland staat een huis ja ja
van je tingela tingela hopsasa
In Holland staat een huis
Iiiiin Holland staat een huis

So we're back.
Weather wasn't always great, but...
M. really learned how to bike on his own (although it did mean we had to bike slooooowly and stop every 2 minutes to give him a chance to catch up).
The kids rode the pony's on the farm (well, sat on a very unwilling pony for 10 mtrs, turned and jumped off).
If you want to see A. gag give her kaasfondue.
I learned that chocolate hail doesn't exist. Americans have something like sprinklers.
40-10 or 10-40, i forgot, means yes.
You think I am gorgeous, you want to kiss me, you want to love me from Miss Congeniality is still a hit.

And so is de Efteling. It is such a great parc. C. is just a bit too small, but the boys loved it. M. even went into some (too) scary rollercoaster, everybody went into the carroussel, the draaimolens, Het sprookjesbos, De indische waterlelies, Carnaval festival, The cannible, the boat, het laafpark, het doolhof etc.
At 5.30 we had to drag them out.

So i am doing my 3rd laundry now and have about 4 more to go.

M-day all the way

First of all M for Mothersday.
Both T. and M. are in kindergarten (m. in group 2 and t. in group 1) so i got a hideous but very cute selfmade necklace twice. Painted pasta's on a ribbon and a golden and silver heart underneath.

Then ofcourse for Margraten.
R. and i tried to spot A. in the crowd all morning but didn't find her. Impressive ceremony though. She's not home yet so i have no details but make sure to see her blog later coz she's bound to share it with you.

And then for M.
Yesterday afternoon I had brought him to D. for a sleep-over. He was very excited and couldn't wait for T. and I to leave.
D. took him to Madurodam and he's been talking about it the whole day.
I also know now that he had a sandwich with egg and chocolate hail this morning, that he visited D.'s mother and that D.'s sister happened to be there too. He had to thank R. for the chocolate cake. He showered this morning (with us they're put in the tub) and he made sure to clean himself "everywhere". The camera's that D. bought for both him and his brother were a mere 5 euro (lol) and yesterday evening he was so tired he almost fell asleep at the dinner table.

Looking forward to tomorrow.
I have a few hrs work to do and then we'll be off to Oosterhout. I rented this house (Code bre-4900-01) for a midweek. Fingers crossed we'll have less rain.

Car Radio

In this new van there is no radio. The seller took his out.
R. has been trying to get one via Ebay or Marktplaats or sites like that. Now there are hundreds of them offered. So i'd say after an hr, ok maybe 2 you'd know what there is to get and what price you have to pay for it.
R. is looking up all the specifics of certain types, calls for companies to hear what the newbought price is, compares that to those offered on other sites, in other countries and basically has spend FOUR days now behind the computer coz there is one he wants but they don't ship to Europe and when he buys that one overhere it costs 20 euro more.
I shit you not.

Yesterday i said to him; even if the difference is 50 euro, you have been after it for DAYS on end now and what do you think that costs.

Today however was no different.

And they say women have less sense for reason.

Busy busy bee

To see where i was yesterday evening; click here.

This morning M. and T. had their last day of the ski-ing lessons. The idea was they would come down doing a slalom.
Now i have been watching them for the last 2 days and it's been hilarious.
8 kids between the age of almost 4 till 5, for the first time on ski's.
2 teachers who do nothing but untangle legs and ski's or kids who have run into each other and just lay there, putting gloves back on, motivating crying chickens etc. etc.
Yesterday they went up the hill with some sort of a rope they had to grab and hang on to till they were at their destination. One girl fell on her knees but hung in there for dear life and was dragged upwards for at least 15 meters. I could have easily shot a whole episode of home made funniest videos.
It took the teachers about 15 minutes to get everybody up and make sure they were horizontally on the hill coz everybody began sliding backward/downhill immediately. And then they began practising curves/bochten. Lots of swaying arms, children falling. Great, i sat there for 1,5 hr constantly laughing.
So today was the big day.
T. being the more obedient one, had done better the whole week but couldn't stand the pressure today, fell halfway and just stayed there till he was picked up by someone.
Surprisingly M. (who after day 1 claimed he could ski and wanted to go snowboarding; yeah right) , did OK today. In fact, proud mother that I am, i can solemnly say he was the best !
Ofcourse in the end they all got their medal and it was really heartbreakening cute to see they thought they had done something extraordinary and that's why they got it.

So i am waiting for a guy for an interview now, but it looks he's not showing and he's not answering his cell phone.

Then i have to run to the postoffice. We bought the van last Tuesday and i want to register it under my companies name in order to profit from lower wegenbelasting.

I mustnot forget to pick up some prescription from the pharmacie.

I have to get April's administration ready for our accountant.

I have to call some organisation to get the parking permit transferred to the van with new license but we can't seem to find the old one. Shit. This is going to take me ages to convince some civil servant not to start a whole new parking-permit-procedure but just to switch the license numbers.

Later.

Okay seriously

What's going on here?

Ever since Sarah left for Las Vegas her commenters-incrowd and other readers have been so much at a loss that they have started reading my blog.
Now i don't want to suggest we're in the same league (I know i am not the first to say so Sarah, but you should really write a book) but there is just no other way to explain my sudden rise in visitors.
Thanks Wayne ! You're the first outside of my well-known circle of 4 readers whom i have evidence of having been there.

To all the others; do me a favour. I am just as much a comment-whore (excuse my french) as all the others and i live for the day I see 17 comments !

Police affairs

I've got 2 businesses. I am setting up Looking for Friends and i've also got a temporary job agency and recruitment firm.
The contract of one of our employees (let's just call him Bart) of the last firm, ended April 30.
I called him the 27th to say he could treat his department on our account and i would contact him later that week to make arrangements about handing in the leasecar and so on.
I then spoke to him last Friday and he started making trouble. Said we hadnot given him proper notice and he would be denied of an allowance.
I got pissed, said so to him and made an appointment for yesterday morning to hand over the car.
You can probably see where this is going, he didn't show up.
Didn't answer his cell or normal phone, didn't respond to emails.

Now Bart has worked with us for 2 yrs, got an unasked for raise last January, won the Karting competition we organised as a company a few weeks back, got free tickets for him and his girlfriend for Snowworld etc. etc.
In fact T. and I rather liked him. Funny guy, bit of a big mouth but he made us laugh.

Not right now no.
We mailed him that incase he didn't return the car Tuesday at 10, we would report a theft and all costs involved would be his.

Nobody shows, so i go to the police office.
After having been told, i have to make an appointment and will be the first Friday afternoon at 4 !!, I go over to another station and get back in line.
Now there are 2 woman and 3 kids in front of me.
The officer behind the counter reads something from her display and says to one of the woman that this is a serious case and uses the word vice.
I start to cry almost immediately.
So does the mother. The officer asks how old her children are, she says 6, 8 and 5 months and then they are being brought over to a more private waiting room. Just before they go in, the officer asks her which child was involved and the mother points to the 6 yr old.

By the time it's my turn i am almost ashamed to say i am there for a cartheft, have a huge knot in my stomach and tears in my eyes.

Later that day Bart handed in the car but i can't get the sight of the mother and in fact that whole family out of my mind.
I am hereby warning everybody who lays a finger on any of my children. I am going to find, torture and kill you.

Elysium

Weather forecast for yesterday evening and today was storm and thunder.
Great.
R. had to be in Zoetermeer at 9 with 3 children and A. and i went to Elysium this morning.
And as we still don't have a car, R, had to leave at 7.45 and A. and i left at 9.30.
We kept it dry for about 2 minutes and then had 58 more to go.

I swear there was soap coming out of my knees. (best test ever to see if your rinsing program is doing what it should)
In the beginning it was even kind of fun.
A. provocatively (is that a word?) said she liked this kind of rain (Big Big drops)
I added it wasnot even cold.

But it is if you're 1 hr further !
And big or little drops; even my thong was wet.
(NO, don't go there!!!)

Ok, so we check in, get the towels and bathrobes and slippers and change.
By the time we're ready to go into the first sauna, i remember we've booked 2 treatments but don't know where or how late to go for that.
I vaguely remember some sign at the entrance and even something on the parking lot, that there was another entrance for those who also booked a treatment, but hey; i didn't have my glasses on anymore coz they were foggy and dripping and A. wasn't paying attention.
So..
The lady at the reception was not amused. Verbal and nonverbal communication showed i was a total moron. I ofcourse was all innocence and didn't read her signs.

To sum it up; we did 3 sauna's (the Steampool, the Finnish sauna-> which was so hot, my butt stuck to the wood, Duhh, that's why the others sit on a towel, and one that smelled of cinnamom), swam both in in-and outdoors pools, swam in the saltiest pool i have ever been, ran thru the Neveltuin (you should have seen A. doing a Free Willy imitation), drunk tea and healthy fruitmixes, A. got a facial and i had an algenpakking (for those of you who are wondering; you lay on a plastic sheet on a wooden shelf in a tub. The beauty woman lubricates strange smelling stuff on you, wraps the plastic sheet and a thicker plastic blanket around you, lowers the shelf that starts to flow in the water, makes sure your head is still dry and then asks just before leaving the room; you are not claustrofobic are you?
Haha, no i don't think i am.
But after 10 minutes something starts to itch at my left eye. I mentally try to replace the itch by something my hand can reach like my thigh, but find out I clearly have to work on my NLP skills)
All in all a great day.

R. picked us up in T.'s car.
The thought of having to get into a pair of totally wet and tight trousers, stepping into soaking shoes and putting on a dripping sweater was a bit too much.

An accident sits in a small cornertje

YAHOO, the first real summer's day.
We take the bikes and the kids and head on out of the city.
Beautiful weather, boats are sailing on "the plas". Rowers are doing their thing on the Rotte.
We stop after an hr and have a drink. Kids get a schatkist (icecream) which cost 3 ff-ing euro each. Three euro (that's about 3,5 dollar) for a tiny lousy icecream.
Okay,
we continue.
R. knows an alternative route back. Gets a bit too courageous and forgets he's got 2 small (loose) children in the Vantley
Tries to take a very sharp and downhill turn to the right and everybody scatters all over the road.
Result; one 2 yr old looking like a painted indian warrior and a 5 yr old with bloody knees.
One smart 4 yr old who says when he's being asked if he wants to swap places with his brother; No way.
One 42 yr old overflowing with guilt.
And me rubbing everything in.

And you know what Phyllis Diller said.
(Who ?)
(Phyllis Diller)
Always be nice to your children because they are the ones choosing your rest home.
Well i made sure T. knew he was the only one not hurt.